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I have decided to house 1 male Betta Imbellis and 2 Otocinclus Affinis' in my 5-gal Eclipse hex tank that I'm in the process of re-aquascaping (see my other post on this board).

I have decided to house 1 male Betta Imbellis and 2 Otocinclus Affinis' in the tank when it's ready for fish.

I've kept Otto's with a couple of my more laid back VT male bettas in the past. I always put the Otto's in first and then the betta to diffuse any territorial issues.

I've never kept an Imbellis before, so I don't know if they are as peaceful as people claim. Should I add the the Otto's first? Or would it be okay to add them after an algae growth as been established?

The tank will be heated to 77-degrees. It will have: 1 Java Fern, 1 Java Fern Windelov, some Java Moss, some Anubias Nana Petite, and some Duckweed. The java moss will be attached a some coconut shell caves. The java fern, windelov, & nana petite will be tied to pieces of Mopani Wood. And the duckweed is for the Imbellis (I know it grows like weed)

Thank ~ Sherri

They should be ok, imbellis are usually more laid back than splendens, and ok in community as long as fin nippers are avoided. Dont mix them with splendens though.

Might as well add the ottos later, Ive kept them together before, and they just ignore each other usually.

Despite being called "peaceful" bettas, they can be aggressive, but that aggression, unlike with betta splendens , is usually focused on its own species, especially among males. Its unusual for them to be territorial with other species , and even male /female pairings get on ok for the most part.

I would never put to male bettas of any variety together never.

I figured that they were probably more laid back than the splendens, but wanted to make sure. Cuz it's hard enough adding Otto's & keeping them alive, getting beat up too would just be to stressful for the little guys.

Thanks for the info longhairedgit

Hey Sherri!

I had imbellis and otos together (two male imbellis as it turned out, I had hoped for a pair!) and they were fine. Imbellis tend to have a personality similar to the larger species of betta, very curious and pretty happy living in a community situation. The males are big on the pecking though, and will just hassle hassle hassle for weeks on end if you let them. They aren't as obvious about it as splendens, but they do have a strong territorial streak.

I wouldn't be too worried about the order in which you add them, they'll probably have a brief play with each other and then just leave it be. Otos aren't really all that interesting to a betta, they are a tad too... well too much like a brown stripy rock.


Are you importing or buying from a breeder, or did you have a lucky find?


For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett